'We're going for that high intensity, high fitness and a lot of movement,' she said.

She said the women's side were focusing on speed. Players from both squads, who juggle work and other commitments due to the sport's amateur nature in Australia, are meeting for training camps once a month ahead of July.īarrenger said tactics play a huge part, as each player's involvement is restricted by how long they can hold their breath, and how quickly they can recover after resurfacing. But then it's got the full contact you find in rugby.' 'I sort of describe it as a mix of water polo and basketball. 'You often will find yourself tied up in a scrum underwater but as you get more experience with the gameplay you learn to manage those situations,' the 30-year-old, who works as an ecologist, said. She fell in love, despite some inevitable hairy moments.

'We're looking to break through into the top group.'īarrenger took up the underwater contact sport in 2013 when her university scuba diving club started playing socially. '(The first one) was really about getting there and giving it a go,' said men's captain Scott Philip, who is one of three in his team lining up for a third championships. 'You can move around in the water column because you're playing at five metres, which makes it very interesting in terms of strategy.'Īustralia first competed in the world championships in 2015 in Columbia, finishing seventh out of nine teams in the women's competition and 11th out of 12 nations in mens.Īt 2019 in Austria, that improved to eighth out of 14 and ninth out of 17 respectively. You are not restricted to that plane of play,' Hannah Barrenger, member of the Australian women's squad, said. 'It's one of the only sports you play in 3D. The aim across 15-minute halves is to score by getting a weighted ball into a goal - a heavy metal basket sitting on the pool floor.

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